December 2010: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Climate Change Working Group for Bilateral Finance Institutions has released its annual report on climate change financial flows to developing countries titled: “Bilateral Finance Institutions and Climate Change: A Mapping of 2009 Climate Financial Flows to Developing Countries.”

The report, prepared by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and staff of UNEP Working Group, focuses on four donors, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), KfW Entwicklungsbank (Development Bank, Germany), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The report indicates that approximately 70% of the total climate finance committed to developing countries during 2009 was destined to mitigation. The European-based institutions had a stronger focus on providing mitigation finance compared to adaptation (82% AFD, 100% EIB, 85% KFW), whereas JICA reports a relatively even balance between financing for mitigation and adaptation.

The report also includes analyses of: total flows of climate finance; regional distribution of Bilateral Finance Institutions (BFI) climate finance; mitigation finance; adaptation finance; the use of different financial instruments; and investment by BFI in Carbon Finance. The report concludes that US$13 billion was committed by participating donors in 2009 to climate financing, and represents a 25% increase from 2008. Regionally, the 2009 report indicates a marked increase in adaptation financing to West and Sub-Saharan Africa. Sectorally, the report indicates that mitigation finance continues to flow primarily to the energy and transport sectors, and adaptation finance predominately flows to the water sector. [Publication: Bilateral Finance Institutions and Climate Change: A Mapping of 2009 Climate Financial Flows to Developing Countries]